Commissioner Olmsted volunteered to continue to represent for the Bicycle Users Subcommittee.

CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR A CROSSING GUARD AT ACACIA AVENUE AND WILSHIRE AVENUE ADJACENT TO LADERA VISTA JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Mark Miller, City Traffic Engineer, presented staff's report. This request was made by the Fullerton School District on behalf of the Ladera Vista Junior High School PTSA.

Commissioner Bailey asked if the Police Department concurred with this recommendation. Mr. Miller stated that the police have been working Acacia Avenue on a regular basis and asked staff to study the intersection.

There was no one present to speak to this item.

Commissioner Olmsted made a motion to accept staff's recommendation. Chairman Robeson seconded the motion, which was approved unanimously.

CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO REMOVE THE OVERNIGHT PARKING RESTRICTIONS ON BOTH SIDES OF WOODS AVENUE BETWEEN ROBERTA AVENUE AND BAKER AVENUE

Commissioner Hardwick asked for clarification on the definition of a short driveway. Mr. Miller clarified that driveways are considered short when the car hangs over the sidewalk.

The public comment segment was opened.

Samuel Warren, 667 West Roberta Avenue, stated that the driveways are short. He said he measured them at 18 feet long. Code enforcement just recently cited his son for having two cars in his driveway because they were blocking the sidewalk. He commented that the inoperable vehicle has been removed from his property.

Commissioner Lindstrom asked Mr. Warren how many cars he is short on his property. Mr. Warren said he is a couple cars short.

Commissioner Olmsted asked Mr. Warren if he attempted to receive the signature from the property owner at 701 West Roberta Avenue. Mr. Warren said that his son circulated the petition and had the renter sign the petition.

The public comment segment was closed.

Vice-Chairman Nowels was not in favor of the exemption because the property does not appear deficient due to the types of vehicles that are there.

CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO REMOVE THE OVERNIGHT PARKING RESTRICTIONS ON BOTH SIDES OF GREGORY AVENUE IN THE 2000 BLOCK BETWEEN CHAPMAN AVENUE AND JULIE AVENUE

Mr. Miller advised that this request was received from Simon Hernandez, property owner at 2030 West Chapman Avenue. Mr. Miller then presented staff's report.

Commissioner Olmsted asked if overnight parking is allowed anywhere around the surrounding area. Mr. Miller replied that Jacaranda Place, Wanda Drive, Adlena Drive, Delphine Place, Diana Place, Elizabeth Way, King Place and the south side of Alberta Place are all overnight parking exempt.

The public comment segment was opened.

Simon Hernandez, 2030 West Chapman Avenue, stated that there are three families living in his 9 bedroom home. They have seven cars in total with three car garages. He mentioned that his visitors get ticketed. Mr. Hernandez stated that his property is parking deficient.

Vice-Chairman Nowels informed Mr. Hernandez that he can call the Police Department to request a no cite for his visitors.

Vice-Chairman Nowels asked Mr. Hernandez if two of his garages are being utilized as storage units. Mr. Hernandez replied yes.

Vice-Chairman Nowels asked if those two garages were to be used for parking and not storage units if it would help the situation. Mr. Hernandez said it would not necessarily help the situation because the cars would be parked one after another on his driveway and in order to get out of the driveway each one of them would have to move there cars out.

Commissioner Olmsted asked Mr. Hernandez if there is parking allowed in the alley off of Chapman Avenue. Mr. Hernandez stated that his neighbor asked that no parking be allowed in the alley and it passed.

Mr. Olmsted asked if the parking were to be reversed in the alley, would it help his situation. Mr. Hernandez replied no because his neighbor would not be happy.

Commissioner Lindstrom asked how far he would have to walk if he were to park in an exempt area. Mr. Hernandez said he would have to walk across Chapman Avenue.

Bob Presutti, 2020 West Gregory Avenue, mentioned that at times his job requires him to take his service truck home. If he comes home late or leaves early in the morning his truck makes a lot of noise and disturbs the neighbors. He would like to be able to park his truck on the street and not disturb his neighbors when he leaves. Mr. Presutti mentioned he does not always take his work truck home. He has two vehicles, one truck and a trailer in his driveway.

Commissioner Bailey asked Mr. Pretutti how many vehicles can fit in his two-car garage. Mr. Pretutti replied that only one vehicle can fit in his small two-car garage.

Richard Rios, 2030 West Chapman Avenue, commented that the type of vehicles he owns do not fit in their garages. His work schedule allows him to come home just in time to move his car from the street.

The public comment segment was closed.

Commissioner Lindstrom stated that because there are so many other exemptions in the surrounding area, this would not make a huge impact to allow this small portion to be exempted. She does not feel that the ordinance was ever intended to penalize working families with many cars. Commissioner Lindstrom favors making the exemption although it is not supported by staff.

Commissioner Olmsted does not see that the situation is less of a problem in this small area compared to the surrounding exempted streets. He does believe that staff has identified that there is not a deficiency according to the code. Commissioner Olmsted supports the exemption.

Chairman Robeson believes that the properties are not parking deficient. He is in favor of staff's recommendation to deny the request to allow overnight parking.

Vice-Chairman Nowels stated that Mr. Hernandez does seem to have a unique situation; however, the properties have large driveways and utilization of the garages. Vice-Chairman Nowels is in favor of staff's recommendation to deny the request to allow overnight parking.

CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO REMOVE THE OVERNIGHT PARKING RESTRICTIONS ON BOTH SIDES OF RICHMAN AVENUE BETWEEN WHITING AVENUE AND CHAPMAN AVENUE

Mr. Miller advised that this request was received from Bonnie Nease, the property agent at 501 West Whiting Avenue. Mr. Miller then presented staff's report.

Commissioner Bailey inquired how many parking spaces would be available on the west side of Richman Avenue. Mr. Miller replied approximately four or five spaces.

The public comment segment was opened.

Peter Beard, property owner at 501 West Whiting, reported that when Chapman Avenue was widened, the building was altered to become a seven-unit building. There were a number of garages demolished across the north side of the property. Mr. Beard asked that the east side of Richman Avenue also be exempted.

Blake Virbailey, resident at 501 West Whiting, stated that they can only park on the north side of Whiting and not on both sides. There are only three parking spots available.

The public comment segment was closed.

Mr. Miller clarified that both sides of Whiting Avenue are exempt in this area.

Commissioner Bailey expressed that they do need some parking; however, he is not for allowing parking on the east side of Richman Avenue.

Chairman Robeson commented that this seems to be an issue and supported staff's recommendation.

Commissioner Hardwick abstained from this item.

Commissioner Olmsted made a motion to accept staff's recommendation. Vice-Chairman Nowels seconded the motion, which was approved unanimously.

CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO REMOVE THE OVERNIGHT PARKING RESTRICTIONS ON BOTH SIDES OF ORCHARD AVENUE BETWEEN CHAPMAN AVENUE AND ITS NORTHERLY TERMINUS

Alan Coble, 413 North Orchard Avenue, said he has four cars stacked on his driveway. He commented that it's a matter of access whether the garage is utilized or not. He mentioned that most of the homes in his neighborhoods have short driveways. He does not feel he should pay for storage if he uses his vehicles.

Jeremy Coble, 413 North Orchard Avenue, stated he started the petition because of the opinion of others in his neighborhood. He informed staff of the properties situations. The renters at 401 North Orchard have motorcycles and trailers in there garage. They park there vehicles on there front lawn. At 409 North Orchard, the owners are utilizing there garage as storage while they remodel there home. At 417 North Orchard Avenue, the renter utilizes her garage as a workshop for projects that she works on. He mentioned that she does have enough parking for herself but not for company. 421 North Orchard Avenue does not have a parking problem. 425 Orchard Avenue has a sloped driveway making it difficult to get out of the driveway. Mr. Coble said that the exemption is a matter of convenience other than deficiency.

The public comment segment was closed.

Commissioner Lindstrom said that times have changed and the families that live in the older homes are finding the parking to be difficult because of the size of the families. She stated that she cannot support staff's recommendation to turn down the exemption especially because Mr. Coble did a very well studied response on his neighbors.

Commissioner Hardwick made a motion to deny staff's recommendation and send to City Council to allow the overnight parking exemption. Commissioner Lindstrom seconded the motion.

AYE: Hardwick, Lindstrom, Olmsted NAYE: Bailey, Nowels, Robeson

The motion failed.

Commissioner Bailey made a motion to continue this item for a full commission.

AYE: Bailey, Hardwick, Lindstrom, Nowels, Olmsted NAYE: Robeson

The vote was 5 to 1 and the motion passed.

CONCURRENCE TO REMOVE THE CROSSWALK ON STATE COLLEGE BOULEVARD AT YORBA LINDA BOULEVARD

Mr. Miller advised staff that the crosswalk was removed in conjunction with the Traffic Signal Modification project. It was also in conjunction with the coordination of traffic signals on State College Boulevard and Yorba Linda Boulevard.

Mr. Miller explained the logic of the removal of the crosswalk was to keep State College Boulevard in signal coordination. In the City of Fullerton, the optimum cycle lengths are a 90 second cycle during the mid morning and mid afternoon, 100 second cycle during the morning, afternoon and late afternoon.

The way the traffic signal operates is unique compared to the other signals in the area in that the heavy flow of traffic is on Yorba Linda Boulevard in the mid morning and afternoon going westbound. The traffic flow on State College Boulevard is southbound in the morning and northbound in the afternoon. Both flows of traffic require the 100 second cycle in order to coordinate the traffic signals along Yorba Linda Boulevard.

Commissioner Olmsted asked Mr. Miller why the south side crosswalk causes more problems then the north side crosswalk. Mr. Miller replied that the majority of the traffic is on Yorba Linda Boulevard and the pedestrian time is used to move the vehicles in the westbound direction. On the south side, the same amount of time would still need to be provided whether there is only one car. Over the past several years this signal has not been coordinated because the pedestrian time does not fit the cycle length of 100 seconds. By removing the pedestrian crossing on the south side we are able to coordinate the signal with the other intersections along Yorba Linda Boulevard and State College Boulevard.

Since the time that the crosswalk was removed, staff has received a number of phone calls from both bicyclists and pedestrians.

Staff has monitored the intersection and made some changes to the crosswalk on the north leg. The trees have been trimmed on the northeast corner to provide sight distance for vehicles that are proceeding west to north on State College Boulevard.

Mr. Miller stated that staff did notify everyone to the best of there ability. Staff did not send mailers to the residents in the area but posted the streets.

Chairman Robeson stated that the commission looked at this a number of months ago. Mr. Miller mentioned that this was brought to the commission when the traffic signal north of this intersection was studied.

Commissioner Hardwick asked if "No Crossing" signs were posted on the southerly terminus. Mr. Miller replied yes and said the "No Pedestrian Crossing" signs were posted on the traffic signals.

Commissioner Bailey asked how much time the pedestrians get on Pioneer when the vehicles are traveling eastbound as opposed to westbound. Mr. Miller said that it is 15 to 20 seconds of green time to clear out the vehicles. Staff has tried to adjust the signal to provide a delay to pick up vehicles as they are coming around the corner. Also, there has been a bicycle push button installed so that bicycles can have 15 seconds to ride across Pioneer as they push the button. The average time for pedestrians is 5 to 7 seconds for the "Walk" indication and 25 to 27 seconds for the "Don't Walk" indication.

Commissioner Olmsted asked when staff posted the removal of the crosswalk. Mr. Miller stated that it was posted prior to the City Winter Closure approximately December 12 or 13, 2003 until after the City resumed in January 2004.

Commissioner Olmsted mentioned that December 12 or 13 is when finals started at Cal State Fullerton and students are not paying attention to anything other than their finals. He does not feel staff got to the student population by posting it around that time frame.

Commissioner Olmsted asked how it would be if this intersection were a scramble intersection like the one at Nutwood and Commonwealth. Mr. Miller stated it cannot be done with the type of cycle length.

Commissioner Bailey asked if a median island would help at the intersection. Mr. Miller stated history has shown that people don't stop in the medians and they just continue to walk even if they don't have enough time. Also, vehicles tend to hit the medians.

Commissioner Lindstrom asked if staff has done the pedestrian volume study in this intersection. Mr. Miller replied no. He said that there was not a high volume of pedestrians crossing the intersection.

Vice-Chairman Nowels asked when the crosswalk was removed. Mr. Miller said it was approximately late November of 2003.

Commissioner Lindstrom asked if there is anything else that can be done in this area to make it more pedestrian friendly. Mr. Miller mentioned that it depends on how Cal State Fullerton is going to locate the proposed parking structure. There is a possibility there will be another intersection between Dorothy Lane and Yorba Linda Boulevard that would facilitate pedestrians crossing State College Boulevard.

The public comment segment was opened.

Marilyn Bates, 2201 Meadow, stated that the crosswalk is a low pedestrian crosswalk. Ms. Bates stated that according to Cal State Fullerton's master plan, the lot that borders Jim Drive where the Police section is located is dangerous because there is not a signal light there. An issue is the 1400 vehicle structure that borders the south side of Jim Way. The parking structure is to have two exits, one to Dorothy Lane and another to Jim Way. It seems that placing a double traffic signal at Ranch and Jim Way would be a viable solution. She gave thanks to Dave Langstaff, Traffic Engineering Analyst, for discussing the problems and answering her questions.

Nathan Frasier, 323 Amerige Avenue, is a student at Cal State Fullerton. He said that he just started classes today and there winter break is approximately one month. Therefore, most of the students were not aware of the removal. He stated that the northeast corner of the intersection has a ramp to get onto the sidewalk that is not visible to vehicles coming from Yorba Linda Boulevard. He asked if a blinking red light could be installed further east on Yorba Linda Boulevard to inform traffic to stop at the

intersection. Also, if a possible walkway going over State College Boulevard could be installed.

Dan Nicholson, 2256 Meadow Lane, stated that a new signalized intersection at Ranch should be considered. He said that a lot of people use the crosswalk such as residents, students and cross country teams from different schools in the surrounding area.

Elise Gass, resident at Broadmore, stated that she crosses the intersection frequently with her two small children. She mentioned two major issues, first, that procedures weren't followed to post the intersection before it was removed. She said it is an inconvenience and a safety issue. Second, cars are often pulled over for speeding.

Vince Buck, commented that there should have been more notification prior to the removal of the crosswalk. Also, the agenda for tonight's meeting should have been posted on the website earlier. He said there is no need for three lanes coming out of Pioneer because it makes it dangerous for bicycles to have to share the right hand curb lane. Additionally, the other lane going west bound is now narrower for bicycles.

Ken Luke, 1530 Old River Road, objects to the removal of the crosswalk for reasons of property values, safety and logic. He thanked Mr. Miller for placing the push button for the bicycles. He feels the crosswalk on the north side should have been removed.

Dick Fumanti, 2241 Victoria Drive, mentioned he uses the crosswalk daily. He stated that Acacia Elementary school uses the intersection.

The public comment segment was closed.

Commissioner Bailey asked staff how realistic a signal is at Ranch. Mr. Miller stated that it is unrealistic at this point and in the future.

Commissioner Lindstrom asked what the options are in terms of reinstalling the crosswalk. Mr. Miller said that it can be replaced.

Chairman Robeson mentioned that when one is walking on the west side towards the college it is very disconcerning when vehicles are speeding. He uses this intersection quiet often and agrees that this intersection is very dangerous. He feels that the crosswalk needs to be replaced.

Commissioner Olmsted commented that it is clear that the intersection is very unsafe. He does not see that coordination is an issue.

CONSIDERATION OF A STAFF RECOMMENDATION TO INSTALL "NO STOPPING ANYTIME" ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF LAMBERT ROAD BETWEEN HARBOR BOULEVARD AND PALM STREET

Mr. Miller advised that the City of La Habra presented this request to staff. Staff concurred and asked that the Commission recommend it to City Council.

There was no one present to speak to this item.

Commissioner Hardwick made a motion to accept staff's recommendation. Commissioner Olmsted seconded the motion, which was approved unanimously.

COUNCIL REVIEW

Mr. Hoppe advised the Chapman Avenue one-hour parking was approved by the City Council.

The overnight parking on Turner Avenue was denied by the City Council.

There will be a neighborhood meeting at Golden Hills Elementary School on Wednesday, February 4, 2004, at 6:00 p.m. This is in regards to Euclid Street and Fern Drive.

NON-AGENDA ITEMS

None

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Kevin Bass, 900 Valley View Place, stated that he will be attending the neighborhood meeting at Golden Hills Elementary School. He addressed his concern regarding certain technical merits that seem to be pushing the concept of traffic signals away from being brought forth. He feels that examples of possible traffic calming and safe pedestrian and vehicle movement on Euclid between Valencia Mesa and Malvern should be viewed. An issue is that they are looking at a changing demographic in Fullerton. Also, increased numbers of people in the area is another issue. Mr. Bass stated that on top of looking at a signal, staff should look at neighborhood safety and the cost of a signal versus creating safe walking havens up and down Euclid.

Lisa Whiting, 737 North Euclid, stated that from her home she witnesses accidents due to speeding. She has collected 1300 signatures of people that would like to either have a stop sign or signal light installed. Ms. Whiting thanked Mr. Miller for setting up the meeting scheduled for Thursday. She also thanked the Fullerton Police Department for having a police officer at the location as much as possible. Some other issues are if one is trying to come out of Fern Drive people cannot see traffic coming northbound on Euclid. Not many pedestrians cross at the crosswalk because it is not safe. Another issue is that several years ago the speed limit was raised from 35 miles per hour to 40 miles per hour. Ms. Whiting suggested an Indy Pace car like the ones used in Santa Clara.

Vice-Chairman Nowels commented that she does not believe changing the speed limit will slow down the vehicles. She asked Ms. Whiting if she feels that if the drivers were aware how fast they are going if they would slow down. Ms. Whiting stated that she does not believe they would realize how fast they are going.

Carol Dutlif, 745 North Euclid, stated that she came to the commission twelve years ago to change the speed limit on Euclid. She was disappointed when she noticed that it was raised to 40 miles per hour.

Mr. Miller clarified that the speed limit was raised because of the eighty-fifth percentile rule.